“Diary of a Madman”

Series: “God Speaks”

Text: Jonah 4:1-11

Introduction: (What?)

Sometimes when we are angry, we don’t “feel” like praying. That was not the case with Jonah. In the midst of his “snit” he prayed. Often our prayers that come from the midst of a fit of anger will be the most honest prayers we pray. God knows your heart. He is more alert to what is in your heart than what comes out of your mouth. Don’t waste a good fit of anger. Open up and “let’er fly.

Explanation: (Why?)

1. Praying in a “Snit” (vv 1-4)

We last saw Jonah beginning his trek across Nineveh, preaching the 7 word sermon God had instructed him to preach. “In 40 days Nineveh will be demolished.” After one day and about 1/3 of the way through the city, the King of Nineveh declares a fast with sackcloth, ashes and crying out to God in repentance. The fast included the live stock as well. In the last verse of chapter 3 we find, “God saw their actions---that they turned from their evil ways---so God relented from the disaster He had threatened them with. And He did not do it.” As we pick up chapter four we find that “Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious.” This is beyond just being angry; it is foot-stomping, voice-raising, ranting fury. Jonah appears to have lost it completely. In the midst of his rage he does a most unusual thing. He prays.

“He prayed to the LORD ‘Please LORD isn’t this what I thought while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster. And now LORD, take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’”

Jonah’s hatred and total rejection of Gentiles shaped his response to God from the very beginning. He also understood the character of God…merciful, gracious and forgiving. He considered any declaration of disaster to Nineveh to be an exercise in futility because he expected God to forgive and relent. He admitted that he ran from God for that reason. It seems that as a good Jew Jonah considered himself a traitor because he was used by God to bring about repentance in Nineveh. The ending of his prayer reflects the prayer of Elijah in 1 Kings 19:4. Although Elijah saw a great victory on Mt. Carmel, and then saw God bring an end to the 3 1/2 year drought that Elijah had prophesied, the threat of Jezebel through him for a loop. His prayer was, “I have had enough! LORD, take my life, for I’m no better than my fathers.” Perhaps Elijah expected Jezebel to repent from her Baalism. Instead she threatened his life and he considered himself to be a failure. For whatever reason he became depressed to the point of praying to die. Jonah’s response to the repentance of Nineveh and God’s relenting from His threat was extreme anger. God’s response to Jonah was to ask a question. “Is it right for you to be angry? One would expect Jonah to repent at this point. Instead, he stalked away.

2. Front Row Seat (vv 5-8)

“Jonah left the city and found a place east of it. He made himself a shelter there and sat in its shade to see what happened to the city.” Even in the face of evidence of repentance in the city, Jonah still held out hope that God would demolish Nineveh. He wanted a front row seat to see the demolition. God even accommodated Jonah at this point. “The the LORD God appointed a plant, and it grew over Jonah to provide shade for his head to rescue him from his trouble. Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant.” There is that word, “appointed” again. It means that the plant was already there, but God caused rapid growth and directed where the shade would fall. Several commentaries surmise that it was probably a castor oil plant which can reach a height of over 12 feet and has huge, shady leaves. Even with the comfort provided by the plant, Jonah’s anger did not subside. He was so miffed that the Gentiles were not being wiped out that he could not acknowledge that the plant came from God. So…here comes an object lesson from God. “When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attached the plant, and it withered.” Again God caused a miracle to happen. The tree that had miraculously grown to shade Jonah now was miraculously destroyed within moments. But God was not finished. “As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind (sirocco). The sun beat down on Jonah’s head so much that he almost fainted and he wanted to die. He said, ‘it’s better for me to die than to live.’” Jonah’s front row seat then turned into a place that both threatened his health and made him wish for death.

3. Get Your Priorities Right (vv 9-11)

Going back to chapter one and coming to this point in chapter four, we find God using what was already existent to accomplish His purposes. In chapter one it was an unrelenting storm and a big fish. In chapter four it was an extraordinarily large plant, a worm and a brutal desert wind. In our day we are dealing with virus that has been around for years, but has suddenly mutated into a killer virus. Why now? Could it be that God is trying to get our attention just as He did with Jonah? I’m convinced that the only cure for the Corona virus 19 is world-wide repentance. And yet, we are acting just like Jonah in many respects. Let’s pick up the dialog between Jonah and God.

“Then God asked Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?’ ‘YES, IT’S RIGHT!’ he replied. ‘I’m angry enough to die!’”

Mankind is still bent on finding a cure for the virus. If one thing doesn’t work, we’ll try another. Yet we will not admit that there is a spiritual element that can only be changed via repentance and return to God. I can assure you that there are many who are mad at God because a friend or loved one has died during the pandemic. We are just like Jonah. We’re still looking for someone to blame; the Chinese, Trump, big Pharma, The CDC, anyone. We want someone to pay for this pandemic.

“So the LORD said, ‘You cared about the plant, which you did not labor over and did not grow. It appeared in a night and perished in a night. But may I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals?’” Many of us today care more about our “stuff” (houses, cars, clothes, boats, sports equipment, etc.) than we do about lost people. None of those things can make us more Godly, yet we spend millions on them. Big Pharma is big because we’ve made them big as we seek to live longer and enjoy better health. Perhaps you are like me and take a handful of pills everyday in an attempt to thwart the inevitable…death.

The latter part of v. 10 can be a bit confusing. Some commentators say that the 12,000 who could not distinguish between their right and their left is speaking of young children who have not yet gained the ability to discern. They then surmise that the actual population of Nineveh could be as many as 600,000. Others believe that God is describing those who are spiritually ignorant because they have never heard the gospel. I lean toward the latter interpretation. We still have thousands of unreached, unengaged, people groups in our world who have never heard the gospel. There are people in Lake Placid who do not know who Jesus is or why He came or that He is coming again. (Illus. Hitch-hiker that Gene and I picked up). Do we really care? In our prayer meetings we pray more to keep Christians out of heaven than we do to get non-Christians into heaven. Our churches are largely designed for the comfort and entertainment of the members than for the lost in the community.

Application: (How should I apply this in my life?)

As I often do, I close my message with some questions.

What occupies the bulk of your prayer life?

How many lost people do you know personally?

When is the last time you told your personal salvation story to anyone?

What makes you any better than Jonah?

God’s parting shot to Jonah was the last phrase of v. 10 “…as well as many animals?” Basically He was saying, “if you don’t care for people, at least care for the animals that are braying, bleating, roaring, and mooing in pain and discomfort as a part of the repentance of the people of Nineveh. My final question for you is;

Do you care as much for lost people as you do for your pets?